Australia’s original World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones has emerged as the Western Force’s white knight in their negotiations with the Sunwolves of Japan, arguing that both franchises would benefit from a merger.

As the Australian Rugby Union turns the screws on the Force and was only stopped from shutting them down by the Perth franchise’s legal action next Wednesday in the NSW Supreme Court, Farr-Jones has worked to keep the club’s options open.

“I think from the Force’s perspective, you’ve got to look at every opportunity, every option,” Farr-Jones told The Australian yesterday. “First prize is clearly to remain in the competition which the team, the management, their supporters and sponsors are desperately keen to happen. But you have to look at all options.

“Whilst it is not obvious about a potential merger between a Perth-based and a Tokyo-based team, there are a hell of a lot of synergies when you really examine it.”

Farr-Jones had raised with the ARU the possibility of exploring the Japanese rugby situation and a possible merger with the Sunwolves, whose own place in Super Rugby has been put under threat a number of times by SANZAAR because of sustained poor performance over their two years in the competition.

“I knew they (the ARU) were looking at the potential merger of the Brumbies and the Rebels but for various reasons that didn’t go ahead,” he said. “But I said, ‘Have you given this some thought?’ because it might get you out of your dilemma and you might find that Japanese rugby would be very open to it.

“The response then was that it would not comply with the current SANZAAR arrangements but you’d like to think that SANZAAR would be flexible enough that if the two teams pointed out the common sense and the advantages that such a merger would bring, you’d think they would be flexible enough to entertain it, wouldn’t you?”

In the end, Farr-Jones raised it himself on a trip to Japan last month, speaking with the chairman of the Japanese Rugby Union and the chief executive of the Sunwolves, both of whom gave him a good hearing. The Force, meanwhile, have also welcomed his intervention.

“They are very keen to keep every option open, as you can imagine,” Farr-Jones said.

“They feel absolutely shot in the foot about this and a lot of them feel that eastern seaboard people aren’t that sympathetic. And I think it’s really important that a lot of us who have had a profile in the game do express our sympathies and say that we are 100 per cent backing you and supporting you. And, as has been stated many times, I think the ARU has handled this appallingly.”

If the alternative is oblivion, then the Force might well see the benefits of merging their roster in the short-term with the Sunwolves, especially since the Japanese side is slated to be competing in the Australian conference next season.

The Japanese are under intense pressure to lift their game, not only to keep SANZAAR at bay but also to improve the standard of Cherry Blossom rugby ahead of hosting the 2019 World Cup.

The Force, meanwhile, have a single-minded goal just to stay alive by any means until the SANZAAR broadcast deal expires in 2020, at which point they hope a fifth Australian team again will be required, especially if Super Rugby morphs into a trans-Tasman competition.

While there has been considerable angst aimed in the West at the Melbourne Rebels, especially as details of the financial deal that secured their place become known, the reality is that had the Force supported the Victorian Rugby Union and the Rugby Union Players Association in their bid for an emergency general meeting back in June, they might not be in their present predicament.

Had the Force acted with them and enlisted the so-called southern states, they might have created enough critical mass to make NSW and Queensland reconsider their position.

Meanwhile, Western Australian Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has called on the ARU to “come clean” on details surrounding their decision to cull the Force. She also has written to the Australian Minister for Sport Greg Hunt, urging him to become involved.

That's bullshit about swaying Qld and NSW, and the VRU were NEVER worried about being the 5th team it was all a sham that legitimised the ARU. FFS they had the put option AND knew all the details of the alliance agreement, plus Clarke's fifth column.

That said, at least NFJ was trying something, anything, looking outside the square and off his own bat. A trifle different to Eales.

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The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor